Mushroom Retreat Ecuador

The Ecuadorian "magic mushroom", psilocybe cubensis, a species of psychedelic mushroom whose main active elements are psilocybin and psilocin.

This mushroom strain was initially found in the high altitudes in the Andean region in Ecuador which is quite varied in terms of natural diversity, running throughout the length of Ecuador and splitting the country in two from north to south.

Ceremonial History of Psychedelic Mushrooms

Psilocybe Cubensis mushrooms in Ecuador have been used by pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cultures to induce altered states of consciousness in healing rituals and religious ceremonies. This is evidenced by the Mushroom stones dating from 3000 BC that have been found in ritual contexts in Mesoamerica. Today, our shamans and healers still use them in ritual ceremonies.

After the Spanish conquest of Central and South America, Catholic missionaries forbade the use of hallucinogenic plants and mushrooms, as they were believed to allow people to talk to the devil (Stamets, 1996). Nevertheless, even in spite of these restrictions, the use of teonanácatl continued in certain remote areas (Guzmán, 2008).